Power On Paper Juvenile Offenders Open Their Live To The Public Through Art And Essays In ‘Insight Out’ Exhibit

No one was more shocked to discover Ozie Whitfield’s latent art talent than Ozie himself.

Locked up in a juvenile center for drug dealing, Ozie picked up a paintbrush and created a work of art.

Called “Time Flies in Jail,” Ozie’s very first painting not only expressed his deep feelings, but also impressed art lovers. “This piece is absolutely outstanding,” says Susan Warner of the Washington State Historical Society’s Experimental Gallery program.

Beginning this week, Ozie’s art will appear at Chase Gallery in Spokane’s City Hall, part of an innovative Experimental Gallery exhibit called “Insight Out: A Different Perspective.” The exhibit displays the artwork and writing of juvenile offenders from five state institutions.

“Insight Out” was developed during an 18-month experimental program by the Washington State Historical Society which transformed juvenile offenders into artists and writers. The teens created art and essays that, in many cases, revealed a horrifying pattern of abuse and violence in their lives.

“These kids have come to incredibly painful places in their lives by circumstances that have been extremely difficult,” says Sandra Renner-Smith, Spokane Juvenile Court drug and alcohol specialist. She will moderate a panel discussion on the exhibit Friday evening. “Some of the art is pretty disturbing and strong.”

In a piece called “My Memories of Childhood,” a teen named Steven wrote about the terror he felt the time his father kicked his mother with a steel-toed boot and broke her back. Other essays chronicle gang violence and drive-by shootings.

Dr. Valerie Appleton is president of the state chapter of the American Art Therapy Association and a member of the panel.

“These are kids who haven’t had appropriate ways to express their feelings,” Appleton says. “Art is a more appropriate way than busting somebody’s face.”

Creating art can act as a catharsis, a release that may have the power to transform these teens’ darkest feelings into something positive.

By exhibiting their art in a gallery, these teens finally get to tell their stories.

“I felt good because I let some things out that I didn’t think people would notice, but they did,” says Ozie Whitfield.

After an exhibit in Olympia, Ozie sold one of his paintings for $125.

“I started getting comments and I started feeling really good inside,” he said.

“For people who live fragmented, chaotic lives, art can provide an integrative vehicle for restoring or regaining wholeness,” Appleton says. “The kids in juvenile court represent some of the most chaotic, fragmented individuals in society.”

Adult participants in the Experimental Gallery program found that these kids are still human beings, still talented and endearing.

“They are bright and intelligent,” says Warner. “They have wonderful senses of humor. Yes, they have done very dreadful things, and we can never forget the victims. But we do not want them to go back to the community and create more victims, and so we have to make good use of their time.”

Society does not have the luxury to give up on these kids, panel members agree.

“The big concrete prison as a replacement for home fails,” Appleton says. “We can’t build enough prisons (for all of these kids.)”

Research shows that the key to rehabilitating these kids is helping them establish at least one strong, positive relationship with an adult role model. Warner plans to link particularly gifted offenders, such as Ozie, with artist-mentors in their communities.

Warner hopes this exhibit will help communities around the state begin to understand the lives of juvenile offenders.

“We also hope this will help the community not to be so afraid of these kids,” she says. “When they come back to the community, they are often greeted with fear and uncertainty. There aren’t many helping hands extended to them.”

Warner has found that most of the 207 kids who participated in this program are now doing well, either in institutions or back in their communities.

Ozie, at 18, is finishing up his time in a group home in Ephrata and learning a trade as a house painter through the Job Corps.

“I just love to paint,” Ozie says.

“I’m doing time, but I’m doing something that could benefit me in life, that could better me in life,” Ozie says. “I know this is my last opportunity and I’m doing the best to take advantage of it.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color photos